Flower Blog - Floral Ideas and Arrangements

Today is “Plant A Flower Day”! What a perfect time to cultivate your inner green thumb and officially welcome the start of Spring. Would you try your hand at planting but aren’t sure how? Not to worry. Here are a few tips to get you planting like a pro.

Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you can’t grow flowers.

Choose your container. Most would say to start with the flower but we like to get adventurous and start with the container. Be creative! You can use a traditional flower pot, a fish bowl, a recycled mason jar, a tea tin, a light bulb... anything that captures your individual style.

Identify plants that will thrive in your container. Different plants (like people and puppies) like different things. If you’ve chosen a clay pot for instance, try flowering plants like petunias and geraniums. They tend to thrive in clay pots. If your container is on the smaller side, a plant that doesn’t grow quickly or too largely is your best bet. Check out your local nursery and bring your container along. They’ll help you find the best options for you.

Do some soil searching. Okay, we apologize for the pun. But the soil you choose is critical to sustaining your plant. Depending on the plant you’ve selected, straight potting soil may not be enough. Do a little digging to find out whether you’ll need to mix in some top soil or supplement with specific ferterlizer.

Get serious about what you’re capable (and willing) to do. If you’re someone who forgets to water, go with a cactus or succulent. These types of plants are very resilient and don’t need a ton of care.

Finally, find a little nook to place your new friend. Place it on your desk at work, or in the center of your dinner table, in your garden, or in a window bed. Think of where you spend your time and how you can improve that space with just a simple plant!

Still not sure you have what it takes to be a plant parent? Here are a few low-maintenance plants you can start with:

Tillandsia: a unique air plant that requires no soil, and grows vivid pink bracts

Echeveria: a succulent that blooms in various pigments with a gorgeous flower shape

Snake plant: a plant whose leaves grow straight up in wavy, ribbon-like way

Pothos: a quickly-growing plant that is great for hanging from high spaces. Watch as its leaves spread out over its pot

Philodendron: a house plant with large heart-shaped leaves

Aloe: a succulent that has medicinal properties. Its leaves are plump and contain a soothing gel that can soothe the skin

Take a moment to look around your home. Did you spend a lot of time
creating and putting up Christmas decorations this year? If so, there's
no reason to put them all away: Many of them can be repurposed for your
New Year's Eve party. Try out these easy ideas that will make your New
Year's Eve décor a hit with your guests.

Are you looking forward to the winter solstice? It's coming up on
Thursday, Dec. 21, this year. You probably already know that the winter
solstice is the shortest day of the year. Today, I've got some more
facts about this incredible event that may surprise you.

Poinsettias are a popular favorite around Christmastime. Going to
church and seeing red poinsettias with their pots wrapped in shiny green
foil makes me feel festive at this time of year. Chances are good that
you have a lovely gathering of poinsettias in your home or office
already. But have you ever wondered how this distinctive plant became so
closely connected with the Christmas season? This week, I took a closer
look at the poinsettia and its interesting history, and here's what I
found.

This year, the celebration of Hanukkah begins on the evening of
Tuesday, Dec. 12, and ends on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Even if you're not
Jewish, you probably know about the lighting of the menorah. You may
even be familiar with some of the foods eaten during this celebration.
But there are some things that may surprise you about Hanukkah. This
week, I'm letting you in on some interesting facts connected with the
celebration of Hanukkah.

Are you going to get a lot of snow and extremely cold temperatures
this winter? The answer to that question depends on where you live. As
always, the Old Farmer's Almanac has a lot to say on the matter.
What sort of weather are you likely to see outside your window while
we're waiting for the spring growing season to arrive? Let's find out if
you'll need your snow shovel, snow blower, salt, or all of the above
for winter 2018.

We've been blessed with a fairly warm autumn, so I hope you've been
spending lots of time outdoors with family and friends. While there's
still a little time before the ground freezes, why not dedicate an
afternoon to a little gardening work? This week, I have some tips for
planting bulbs this month that will yield a gathering of beautiful
spring flowers next year.

I love getting together with family and friends to enjoy a delicious
meal on Thanksgiving. I like to combine traditional favorites like
turkey, stuffing, and cranberries with new dishes like rosemary sweet potato stackers
and crescent rolls stuffed with veggies and cheese. Most of us think of
Thanksgiving as a uniquely American holiday, but days of gratitude are
celebrated all over the world. Check out how other countries celebrate
Thanksgiving around this time of year!

This time of year, chrysanthemums can be spotted on walkways, patios,
and porches and in window boxes and yards. They are such cheerful
flowers, and they look so gorgeous in the autumn light. I think the
chrysanthemum is the perfect choice for November's birth flower; don't
you? In celebration of the chrysanthemum, I dug up a few facts you may
not know about these personable blooms.

Carving a pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween is something
you might do around this time every year, but there are plenty of other
fun, creative ways to use pumpkins, too. Check out these 15 unexpected
ways you can use pumpkins this fall.